[Bug] App services fail on fresh start due to missing migration step in docker-compose setup

[distroaryan]

Describe the bug

When starting the project locally using the instructions provided in README.md, all three app services (api, delivery, log) fail to start because pending database migrations have not been applied.
The app has a pre-run check (PreRun → checkPendingMigrations) that explicitly blocks startup if migrations are pending, but the provided docker-compose setup has no mechanism to run migrations before the app services start.

This is the exact log statement which can be seen in docker logs

pending migrations detected (9 SQL, 3 Redis) — run 'outpost migrate apply' before starting the server
exit status 1

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
Run these commands in order

1. git clone https://github.com/hookdeck/outpost.git
2. cd outpost/examples/docker-compose/
3. cp .env.example .env
4. docker-compose -f compose.yml -f compose-rabbitmq.yml -f compose-postgres.yml up

Screenshots

The attached screenshot displays the logs from docker images which clearly proves the above statement and also highlights the solution

Expected behavior
All services start successfully. The api service should be accessible at http://localhost:3333 as mentioned in the README.md file

Additional context
For local development and first-time setup, the current README workflow leads to a non-functional stack unless migrations are manually applied beforehand.

[distroaryan]

Proposed Fix

Add a dedicated migration service to compose.yml files that runs
migrate apply --yes

once before the app services start, and it depends on redis services to start. This will apply the migrations successfully and will also provide a method to apply migrations independently before starting the infra.

cc: @alexluong

[alexbouchardd]

Good catch, we just recently changed the behaviour to run the migration outside of the service boot time and overlooked this Docker Compose change

[distroaryan]

So my solution for this is to Add a dedicated migration service to compose.yml files that runs the migration command before the application services start, We can add this as a service

  migration:
    image: hookdeck/outpost:v1.0.2
    env_file: .env
    command: migrate apply --yes
    depends_on:
      redis:
        condition: service_started
    restart: "no"

and in consecutive files compose-rabbitmq.yml and compose-postgres.yml the same service can be extended with the appropriate dependencies/env configuration so migrations run once the backing services are available.

Since the migrations are idempotent, running them during startup should remain safe even if users also run them manually outside Docker Compose.

Happy to open a PR for this if that approach sounds reasonable

[alexluong]

Hi @distroaryan, thanks for sharing the report. Great catch! Yes, I think having an outpost-migrate service in Docker Compose would be a good idea. Please feel free to open a PR and we can collaborate further on it!

[distroaryan]

Opened a PR for this fix: PR Link

Would appreciate feedback when you get a chance, tell me if any changes are needed
@alexluong